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May 29, 2024 3:45 AM Subscribe
Alchemy, specifically the Paracelsian brand of alchemy-medicine, was prominent in the sixteenth and early years of the seventeenth century, not only in esoteric collections, but also in the “news” of the day. In 1600, the London College of Physicians examined a certain Frances Anthony who was suspected of prescribing and selling aurum portable (elixir). He was forbidden to continue his practice, a prohibition he repeatedly ignored in spite of fines and imprisonment. Three years later, in 1603, the controversy erupted between the Paracelsists and the medical faculty of Paris. Paul Kocher, historian, suggests that the theories of Paracelsus stirred up such a storm of controversy that, between 1590 and 1600, every educated person in England must have been aware of his works.[escholarshare, pdf]
alchemy, previously: time crystals, “this level of engagement represents a new kind of alchemy”, Baking Bad, the special alchemy of African-American history and historical romance, meth, The exciting world of condensed-matter physics!, coding, afro-solarpunk, “I’ve been playing these games since before you were born!”,
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alchemy, previously: time crystals, “this level of engagement represents a new kind of alchemy”, Baking Bad, the special alchemy of African-American history and historical romance, meth, The exciting world of condensed-matter physics!, coding, afro-solarpunk, “I’ve been playing these games since before you were born!”,
despise not the truthful word of those who possessed the Stone before us, McCardell, turns out cheese is pretty useful, delightful music, flavor-ness, (pro babysitting tip: every house has markers and paper towels or coffee filters and it blows kids' minds every time), productivity, signs & symbols, sunny day, essential mixes, deliberately sent to this planet by an advanced extra-terrestrial civilization, Dada and Surrealist artist Max Ernst's alter ego, a good novella, Almond milk was a traditional drink in Medieval europe, player is thrust into the role of a lowly Ensign on the alchemical starship, game within the game, oldhammer, my father’s head [pdf], hops wars, nsfw, acsii, novels you should have read, timelapse, I MADE A FUCKING UNICORN, fresh aire, “These chemicals were invented during the '80s and '90s in the labs of legitimate scientists at universities and pharmaceutical companies who had been looking for ways to harness the therapeutic capacity of THC without any of the stoned side effects.”, memory, cognates, Unlike your parents, however, you have hopes and dreams!, whales, turns out that there is a much deeper connective bond between alchemy and modern finance, muppet labs, 25 Semi-Obscure Traditional Christmas Songs as Performed by Famous and Non-Famous People, phlogiston, pixels (aka voxels), an elastic term, What Makes a Great Teacher?, not bureaucrats, for those who wonder about the above capitalization of The Great Work, in alchemy and hermetism, The Great Work (or, in Latin, Magnum Opus), is the term, ∀R , dark materials, Lame-in-osity is a scientific word., Suzanne Treister, a rose is a rose; is a rose?, out of the ballpark, living machines, try this at home, esoterica, interesting bypass of the "one link per day" rule, heresy, fascinating collection, timehunt
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Is that second link correct? It's all about herbalism, but the FPP implies it talks about a medical controversy in 1603.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 6:04 AM on May 29 [2 favorites]
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 6:04 AM on May 29 [2 favorites]
here's more Paracelsus, from the National Library of Medicine
posted by HearHere at 6:37 AM on May 29 [1 favorite]
posted by HearHere at 6:37 AM on May 29 [1 favorite]
Maybe some of the links are messed up? I'm not sure there is a Paul Kocher, professional historian, though there was a literary scholar by that name (wrote a bio of Tolkien many of you may have read), and I don't see links to his work?
If anyone is interested in the Paracelsian controversy, there's a whole chapter on how it played out in London's medical and "paramedical" communities in Deborah Harkness's The Jewel House: Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution.
posted by praemunire at 8:33 AM on May 29 [2 favorites]
If anyone is interested in the Paracelsian controversy, there's a whole chapter on how it played out in London's medical and "paramedical" communities in Deborah Harkness's The Jewel House: Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution.
posted by praemunire at 8:33 AM on May 29 [2 favorites]
the ref, on page 11, is: Paul Kocher, Bulletin of the History of Medicine (1947), 475, cited by W. A. Murray, "Why was Duncan's Blood Golden?" Shakespeare Survey, 19 (1966), 37. the original appears to be "Paracelsan Medicine in England: The First Thirty Years (ca. 1570-1600)." Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences 7.4 (1947): 451-480.
posted by HearHere at 9:29 AM on May 29
posted by HearHere at 9:29 AM on May 29
praemunire, Leggete Tolkein, Stolti! is a recent article in Harper's that might interest you
posted by HearHere at 9:37 AM on May 29 [2 favorites]
posted by HearHere at 9:37 AM on May 29 [2 favorites]
From Frankenstein:
When I returned home my first care was to procure the whole works of this author, and afterwards of Paracelsus and Albertus Magnus. I read and studied the wild fancies of these writers with delight; they appeared to me treasures known to few besides myself. I have described myself as always having been imbued with a fervent longing to penetrate the secrets of nature. In spite of the intense labour and wonderful discoveries of modern philosophers, I always came from my studies discontented and unsatisfied.
posted by doctornemo at 10:14 AM on May 29 [2 favorites]
When I returned home my first care was to procure the whole works of this author, and afterwards of Paracelsus and Albertus Magnus. I read and studied the wild fancies of these writers with delight; they appeared to me treasures known to few besides myself. I have described myself as always having been imbued with a fervent longing to penetrate the secrets of nature. In spite of the intense labour and wonderful discoveries of modern philosophers, I always came from my studies discontented and unsatisfied.
posted by doctornemo at 10:14 AM on May 29 [2 favorites]
Aurum portable sounds like the name of a record player for golden oldies but it's actually liquefied gold that was believed to have medicinal uses. Some people drank so much they were diagnosed with something called auric fever, or even died, so not exactly the elixir of youth and vitality it was sold as.
posted by Chrysopoeia at 2:42 PM on May 29 [1 favorite]
posted by Chrysopoeia at 2:42 PM on May 29 [1 favorite]
doctornemo, Melancholy Wedgewood by Iris Moon is a book i am in the middle of & thought of your comment when this arrived, on page 168:
Reading Frankenstein for the first time, the most shocking part is the refusal of the creator to own up to his creation. The creature has been interpreted as a metaphor for race and the British Empire’s literary construction of the other. We might think of Frankenstein, in some sense, as the alter-ego of the antislavery medallion, its belated, tropic cousin. Both of monstrous qualities, they question humanity and its limits. They both in separate but entwined ways ask, “Who am I?” But the question is unanswerable.
posted by HearHere at 10:39 AM on June 2 [1 favorite]
Reading Frankenstein for the first time, the most shocking part is the refusal of the creator to own up to his creation. The creature has been interpreted as a metaphor for race and the British Empire’s literary construction of the other. We might think of Frankenstein, in some sense, as the alter-ego of the antislavery medallion, its belated, tropic cousin. Both of monstrous qualities, they question humanity and its limits. They both in separate but entwined ways ask, “Who am I?” But the question is unanswerable.
posted by HearHere at 10:39 AM on June 2 [1 favorite]
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posted by DJZouke at 5:00 AM on May 29 [1 favorite]